Estela Portillo Trambley was born on 16 January 1936 in El Paso, Texas. Raised in Mexico and El Paso, she received a B.A. and M.A. in English literature at the University of Texas at El Paso. She taught at high school and community college levels in El Paso, hosted local radio and television shows, and wrote and directed plays. In 1975 Trambley became the first woman to win the Premio Quinto Sol award for her short story collection Rain of Scorpions. She died in 1999.

Written works and biographical materials, 1969- , of El Paso, Texas playwright and novelist Estela Portillo Trambley. Written works include drafts of eight plays, notably "Day of the Swallows," "Blacklight," "Sun Image," and "Sor Juana." Prose works include "Rain of Scorpions," "Woman of the Earth," "After Hierarchy," and short stories. Haiku poetry and a multimedia presentation on the Haiku form, notes and notebooks, interviews, letters received, reviews and critical essays about Trambley's work and clippings of articles about Trambley are also included. A transcript of an interview with Trambley by Juan Bruce-Novoa is part of the collection.